Happy June 1st!  In the warm months around the parsonage you will see us outside a good bit.  I love the warm weather.  When I heard two sales people at Lowe’s Garden area complaining about how hot it was I wanted to say, “So, did you like the 60 degree weather we had two weeks ago?”  =)  Okay, I don’t like to be sweltering either, but there’s such a thing as shade and air conditioning, both which give relief from the heat.  I’ll indulge when needed and try not to complain! 
I like to make the outside pretty with flowers and embellishments. I got a new flag when we were at Dollywood…

The patio down below our deck gets lots of afternoon shade, so I’m working on fixing it up so we can have another place to retreat in the heat this summer.   Here’s a beginning of my efforts…

I painted my little soda table chairs yellow.  I also brought the chaise lounge to this area, rather than up on the deck.  I’d made the slipcover for it a couple years ago.  I found outdoor fabric on sale and made a giant pillowcase to slide the cushions into, then added ties to secure it.  My hostas do great under here since they get so much shade.  I added an old window for some color and pizazz. 

I’ve purchased a Boston Fern.  I’m praying I won’t kill it.  I’m in hopes that the shade will help it survive.  I’ve never been good at keeping these beautiful for very long.  I’m going to hang it from a beam above, but for now it’s resting in a shady corner.

I love herbs.  My herb garden has outgrown the spot where I have it, and I’m wanting to make some improvements here this summer.  My lavender is beginning to bloom.  It smells so good.

I also purchased three different types of Sunflower seeds to add a perky spot to our shed.

I love working in the yard and seeing things grow.  Isn’t the Lord good to give us beautiful things to enjoy?  What’s growing in your yard? 
With love,

It happened so suddenly I wasn’t quite sure what had just occurred. One minute I was riding along the bike path, the next I was on the ground, my bike on top of me.  My husband and I were riding the Virginia Creeper Trail and, having ridden it many times, I’d never had a spill off my bike in the past.  It’s funny to me now, and thank the Lord I didn’t break anything, but the fall was my own fault.  I’d taken my hand off the rear brake and my eyes off the road to take a picture!  (Dumb idea!)  My bike hit a large rock in the path and the only hand that was on the handlebars hit that brake – the front one – and over I went! 

After I got my husband’s attention and he came back to rescue me, he asked me, “Denise, what are you doing?”  My first response was to say something smart like, “I got tired so I thought I’d just a nap with my bike on top of me!”  But instead I admitted, “I fell because I was taking a picture.” Trust me, I didn’t do that any more!  From that point on, I rode along with careful thought and precision, guiding the bike along the secure path and avoiding any rocks in the way!

When we have a right view of God and a healthy fear of Him, we will be happy.  Why?  Because we won’t be sinning habitually.  It takes thinking correctly about God that keeps me in a right fear of Him and His judgments. 

But look at what the verse says about the person who hardens his heart – or who is careless about his view of sin and God…He will fall into mischief.  My fall off my bike obviously took no thought!  I really thought I could take my hand off the handlebar and snap a picture while pedaling down the path!  I didn’t plan or prepare for the fall.  When we fall into mischief (sin) it’s due to us not thinking right and being careless. We may be thinking we can handle this little issue ourselves, or that it won’t bother us.  We’re not meditating on Scripture to help us avoid temptation.  We haven’t thought through how we will avoid the sin, should it confront us on our path.  And then because we aren’t thinking, we fall.

Notice that falling always leads us downward – not just in a physical sense, but spiritually.  We never fall into something good!  We must take careful thought not to fall to the sin before us.  It takes effort and God’s enablement to stay right, but God will help us to do it!

What will you choose today?  Will you think correctly and carefully,  or will you have to live out the consequences off falling into mischief?  I pray you “Stay on the bike!”

With love,

Saturday was Allison’s last morning here before heading to The Wilds to work for the summer.  I found out she’d like a fritatta for breakfast, then planned around that.  I used my new cookbook and found a Garden Frittata and adapted it to the ingredients that I had on hand.  It was very good!  The thing I like about frittatas is that if you only have a few eggs, you can still feed a group of people; unlike frying or scrambling eggs where you need a couple eggs per person.  My brunch menu was:



Ready for the oven

 The recipe called for zucchini and squash, but I didn’t have any, so I just used tomatoes and onions and the cheeses – Feta, Mozzarella and Parmesan.  This takes a while to bake – about 45 minutes, but it whips together in a snap.



Hot and ready to serve

 Breakfast or brunch is a great meal to have guests over.  Much of the work can be done ahead of time.  You could mix up the firttata the night before and have it ready to pop in the oven in the morning.  Roll out your biscuits and place them on the baking sheets.  The only thing for this menu that you would make before the meal would be the grits, because they’re so fast, but even those could be done the night before.  An addition of fresh fruit would round this meal out nicely.



After a hearty breakfast, they’re ready to head to camp!

What did you do to decorate for Memorial Day?  Did you cook or bake anything special for the holiday?

With love,

If you get to go away on vacation this summer, you may find as we did, that that particular week seems to fly by!  I hate to discourage you before you even pack, but vacations don’t last!  **Sigh**

While away on our recent vacation, my husband and I would sit near the pool and read our Bible in the morning.  We were seated near the gate that led out to the beach; therefore, many people walked past us as we sat there with our Bibles and journals open and a pen ready. The response from the passersby was truly interesting. The believers were easy to spot. When they saw our Bible, their look would brighten. Many would step back to make a comment.

One such person was a dear lady probably in her 60’s. She walked up to me, a smile on her face, and asked, “What does the Word say today?”

“The Lord is so good” I said, and then I shared with her the truth that I had just read from the psalms.

Her response to me was – “Oh, as I was just walking along the shoreline and thinking about being here on vacation, the Lord brought to my mind that this time away is how life is. You come here on vacation and enjoy yourself, but then at the end of the week, it’s time to go home. That’s the way it’s going to be for all of us. We’re here now for just a short little while, then one day, it will be time to go home, and we all have to be ready.”

She’s so right. Our time on vacation went so quickly, and was wonderful, but then the time was ended and it was time to pack up and head home. When our life is done here, we are all headed somewhere – heaven or hell. Will you be ready to meet the Lord on that day? Where are you going, Friend? You can know for sure that heaven is your home by trusting Christ as your Savior. (Click here to read how you can know!)  The time is passing quickly – don’t delay!  Heaven will be far better than anything we’ve ever enjoyed on this earth – and it will never end!

See you in church!

With love,

What special touches have you added to your porch or deck?

Happy Summertime!